Thursday, January 3, 2008

Ardrey Kell sophomore Justin Cheek had a great tournament at the First Charter Bank Classic. He shot 17-for-24 from the floor in three games (70 percent) and was 5-0f-8 from the 3-point line. He had 17 points, 19 points and 9 off the bench.

Cheek, whose sister Joy is a former South Meck star who starts for Duke, did all that playing through an injured ankle.

Kell is led by Alex Watkins who is averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds from the small forward spot. Senior point guard Kevin Davis averages 12 points and five rebounds.

Specialist Matt Helikson is 14-25 (48 percent) from the 3-point line in Kell's last four games.....Kell is playing without starter Jordan Darnell who hurt his ankle and has been out for 5 games. Kell (8-4) is 3-2 without him in the lineup.

Salisbury was 3-6 going into the tournament and have now won four in a row. The turning point in the teams' season was the dismissal of its leading scorer and 6-foot-8 Division I prospect for violation of team policies.

In the past six games, 6-5 junior Brandon Abel has averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds, surpassing his season averages of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

While in Florida, Daryl Traynham a 5-7 sophomore guard and 6-7 sophomore forward DeAndre Tillman drew major recruiting interest from South Florida coaches, Vance coach Will Robinson said. Traynham's family moved to Charlotte from Maryland recently.

Vance plays rival Mallard Creek tonight on the road. Should be an instant rivalry since Mallard was formed last fall with many Vance students.

North Iredell's Morrison Nears Milestone

North Iredell's girls are 7-2 and 5-1 in conference play, losing only to powerhouse Statesville.

Junior Santana Morrison could score her 1,000th career point tonight against East Rowan. Averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds, Morrision has 983 career points.

East Rowan star breaks school scoring mark

East Rowan's boys (10-1) beat South Rowan 71-66 in the Sam Moir tournament third place game.

Star Justin Vanderford is averaging 25 points and broke the school career scoring mark with 30 against Salisbury in the semfinals. He now has 1,357 career points and broke his bother, Alstin's, career mark.

East Rowan starter Trey Holmes missed the Christmas tournament with a broken finger. He returns for Tuesday.

Cannon's Eddie sets hot pace

Concord Cannon sophomore forward Jarell Eddie passed the 1,000 career point mark during a Dec. 11 game against Hickory Grove. Eddie is currently 25 rebounds shy of 700 for his career.

He has led his team to a 10-3 record and was named to the All-Tournament team at the AROD Basketball Classic in Miami last month. He currently has scholarship offers from Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Miami.

The York (SC) girls are 8-3. The team lost to S.C. 3A No. 1 JL Mann at the Beach Ball Holiday tournament and two S.C. 4A No. 2 Spartanburg. York, ranked No. 8 in the S.C. 4A poll, is ranked for the first time in 4A in three years.

Sophomore Erika Shannon is averaging 17.3 points in her past four games. Senior Nicole Anderson, a 6-3 center, tore her Achilles' four months ago and was expected to miss the season. She's on pace to play early next month.

Hickory Ridge's Respectable First Year

Hickory Ridge's girls coach Tony Walters is excited about his team, a first-year school that is 7-5 overall and 5-1 in its past six games.